Apple makes biggest sales ever on App Store New Year’s Day

Apple on Thursday announced that the New Year’s Day 2017 was the biggest day ever for the App Store, with nearly $240 million in purchases worldwide on that day alone. That hints at robust sales of Apple devices during the crucial October to December quarter, ahead of Apple’s earnings call later this month.

The Cupertino giant also announced that developers earned over $20 billion in 2016, up over 40 percent from the year before. Holiday spend was also at record levels, Apple said, with purchases from the App Store topping $3 billion in December.

“2016 was a record-shattering year for the App Store, generating $20 billion for developers, and 2017 is off to a great start with Jan. 1 as the single biggest day ever on the App Store,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing.

“We want to thank our entire developer community for the many innovative apps they have created – which together with our products – help to truly enrich people’s lives,” he added.

Apple also announced that since the App Store launched in 2008, developers have earned over $60 billion across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Mac platforms. Since Apple keeps 30 percent of most App Store revenue, passing on the rest to the developers, that means lifetime sales on the App Store have now topped $85 billion.

The App Store offers 2.2 million apps in total, up over 20 percent from last year, and is available in 155 countries. iPhone and iPad customers grew the App Store’s subscription billings significantly in 2016, to $2.7 billion, up 74 percent from 2015.

Apple also announced that since iOS 10 launched in September, developers have shipped over 21,000 iMessage apps to send stickers and collaborate with friends.

Analytics firm Flurry estimated that Apple accounted for 44 percent of device activations during the holiday period, a healthy figure, but down slightly over the previous two years.